I recently picked up an old devol racing bash plate. Can someone who has one post some pictures or hints on how to mount it? The back is pretty clear, but I don't get the triangular piece in the front.

I stuck with a local thread in the Pac Norwet forum to try to get a few people to try racing. It's sort of working.

Just for practice I went out to an MX track the other day (my first time on one), and the XR managed it. For one session I traded for a KTM 200, and found out that I can't blame the bike for being slow. On the upside, it was pretty good treatment for the new bike lust I've been having recently.

well had the xr out for 50 miles of quad trails today, what a fun bike! This has to be the best trail bike ever! My 450exc was more powerful and faster but this is just more fun and i don't seem to mind slowing down a little on it. So to my question, what is every one running for sag riding a lot of rocks, from babyheads to 1 foot steps there is a lot of this type of trail near me so i'm hoping to hear some other views.

Guys, I've completed (hopefully) my full engine rebuild, and am back together except for brakes and wheels. I'll be trying to start the beast likely some time this week. Any advice for the first startup? Do I need to prime any parts of the oiling system or just fill up the frame? Thanks

well had the xr out for 50 miles of quad trails today, what a fun bike! This has to be the best trail bike ever! My 450exc was more powerful and faster but this is just more fun and i don't seem to mind slowing down a little on it. So to my question, what is every one running for sag riding a lot of rocks, from babyheads to 1 foot steps there is a lot of this type of trail near me so i'm hoping to hear some other views.

I use standard sag settings. I'd suggest checking your weight against a spring chart. You could likely use stiffer fork springs. These help a lot for stepped downhills; they keep the front end from collapsing on bumps. You can also take out a few of the damping shims in the front forks. That'll make the front track better over rocks instead of deflecting to the side, and the ride will be more comfortable. Put the shims back in for riding wide-open desert. Like those big sand dunes near Allentown.

Guys, I've completed (hopefully) my full engine rebuild, and am back together except for brakes and wheels. I'll be trying to start the beast likely some time this week. Any advice for the first startup? Do I need to prime any parts of the oiling system or just fill up the frame? Thanks

I did, and it certainly didn't hurt anything. There are a bunch of oil passages between the oil pumps and the places that get oiled, so I figured that filling them with oil would be good.

Advice from the local machinist, which I also followed: turn the motor over by hand using non-ratchet wrench and socket on the flywheel bolt. While doing this, listen and feel for piston-valve contact. By doing it this way, you won't bend the valves if they touch the piston and you can fix them easily. If you use the kickstarter (or e-start) the valves will bend when they hit the piston.

Once you've confirmed that the valve timing is correct, then use the kickstarter to turn the motor to get the oil where it belongs.

I did, and it certainly didn't hurt anything. There are a bunch of oil passages between the oil pumps and the places that get oiled, so I figured that filling them with oil would be good.

Advice from the local machinist, which I also followed: turn the motor over by hand using non-ratchet wrench and socket on the flywheel bolt. While doing this, listen and feel for piston-valve contact. By doing it this way, you won't bend the valves if they touch the piston and you can fix them easily. If you use the kickstarter (or e-start) the valves will bend when they hit the piston.

Once you've confirmed that the valve timing is correct, then use the kickstarter to turn the motor to get the oil where it belongs.

Thanks Luke,

I'm confident that that timing is in the correct phase. And I've rotated the engine over a few times on the kick-starter and all appears well. I'm concerned about the lack of initial lubrication and the delay in the oil pump filling up all the lines, cooler, and filter housing before getting to the vital parts. All the parts were pre-lubed as specified during assembly, but I'm worried that the pump will take a long time to clear the system of air. Thoughts?

I'm confident that that timing is in the correct phase. And I've rotated the engine over a few times on the kick-starter and all appears well. I'm concerned about the lack of initial lubrication and the delay in the oil pump filling up all the lines, cooler, and filter housing before getting to the vital parts. All the parts were pre-lubed as specified during assembly, but I'm worried that the pump will take a long time to clear the system of air. Thoughts?

Correct me if im wrong, but wouldnt kicking the bike slowly a bunch of times push oil through the system? Afterall when you turn the engine, the oil pump turns, right?

Correct me if im wrong, but wouldnt kicking the bike slowly a bunch of times push oil through the system? Afterall when you turn the engine, the oil pump turns, right?

Thats what I did on my rebuild, bike seems to be running fine.

I think so. So that is what I'm going with. However I'm a bit paranoid about it. I think the pump would have to be running at a fairly high speed to achieve enough pressure to reach the whole system. I'm concerned that the slow action of the kick starter might not do it. I'm glad to hear it worked for you. Did the bike start right up, or did you have any troubles?